Rein In Junk Science, Trial Lawyers

July 2, 1999

With evidence mounting that silicone breast implants aren't responsible for illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, a question needs answering:

Will lawyers who made fortunes peddling the idea to juries that the implants were the cause of incalculable suffering make amends to Dow Corning by returning to the corporation their outrageous contingency fees?

Don't bet on it. This would mean the lawyers would have to stop living like Middle East oil sheiks. Such a lifestyle is addicting, so don't expect fair play on the part of the lawyers. And don't expect any changes in the legal lottery known as the American civil justice system that allows payoffs to barristers far higher than those received by breaking the bank in Monte Carlo.

The trial bar, however, should at least have the dignity to stop sanctimoniously proclaiming it is the savior of American values and the protector of the innocent against merciless corporate greed. If the implant litigation has proved anything, it is that the trial bar has helped to create a legal system unique to America that more civilized countries, like Kazakhstan and Mongolia, never would adopt.

Nobody is arguing silicone breast implants are perfectly safe. It's known for certain they can rupture and cause infections and hardening and scarring of breast tissue. The localized problems can create substantial pain and suffering.

These problems, however, aren't cause for the multibillion-dollar payout that has forced Dow Corning to seek protection in bankruptcy court.

The latest declaration that the implants aren't responsible for all the ailments attributed to them comes from the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine. A 13-member panel, acting on a request from Congress, pored over the voluminous peer-reviewed data and reached the same conclusion as people from the Mayo Clinic, Harvard, Johns Hopkins and a lengthy list of other highly respected institutions. That is, there is no basis in science to link the implants to chronic connective-tissue diseases.

This conclusion also was reached by scientists appointed by federal judges in Alabama and Oregon who are overseeing implant litigation. Scientists appointed by the British minister of health said the same thing.

Give the federal judges credit for demanding that real science, rather than junk science, be used in their courtrooms. More judges, both federal and state, need to take such stands and rein in the so-called "experts" used by lawyers to obscure, or even obliterate, the truth.

Since it is becoming more and more clear each day that silicone implants aren't responsible for many of the ailments attributed to them, it's legitimate to ask how much anxiety was needlessly instilled in implant recipients by all the litigation.

Conceivably, these women have a tort against the class-action attorneys for infliction of mental anguish.